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Grants refuel midday meal programme in Kapurthala

With the release of funds up to October 2013, the midday meal
scheme, a component of the central government's flagship programme Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan, is back on track in the district.

In
2012-13, the district was among the 144 poor-performing districts
identified by the union ministry of human resource development across
the country.
A total of 63,010 students up to middle level are enrolled to have
meals at 842 kitchens in the district, wherein 1,431 cooks prepare the
food.
“Last year, delay in payments to school heads led to widespread
resentment among teachers. Nearly all teachers pitched in from their
personal savings to carry forward the scheme. But, there is a limit to
everything. The fund-crunch had affected the scheme badly,” said Sucha
Singh, president of the district unit of democratic teachers' front.

This reporter visited Government Elementary School at Villa Kothi
village and the local Kapurthala Government Senior Secondary School
(girls) for a ground report.
“We have received funds to meet the expenses of implementing the
scheme till October. If the authorities continue to release grants on
time, students will be able to get quality food,” said Gurjit Singh, in
charge of the Villa Kothi school.
He said: “Last year, though the government failed to release grants,
we continued the scheme for nearly two months. At schools such as ours,
which are situated in backward areas, nutritious food plays a major role
in attracting students as well as parents,” Singh said.
At the Kapurthala school, to mark the occasion of Sankrati on
Thursday, students were being offered more than what was mentioned in
the menu. “We check our kitchens, which are adequately equipped and
hygienic, regularly to monitor the preparation and quality of food. Till
now, we have not received even a single complaint against being served
less than the prescribed menu,” said Som Nath, district mid-day meal
manager.
Gurmukh Singh Baba, a teacher, said: “The situation has improved at
all blocks of the district. If the schools get payments in advance,
things will become a lot easier for everyone. Advance payments won't be a
hassle for the government as it has all details of the students
enrolled and the number of cooks recruited for the purpose.”
Sudesh Sharma, a social activist, said: “The administration should
continue having representatives of NGOs and social workers in the
district education development committees to keep a check on the scheme.
Though the practice was in place till last year, it was stopped this
year.”
Deputy commissioner Daljit Singh Magat patted his back for keeping
the scheme operational despite receiving threats from various unions
regarding discontinuing it due to non-release of payments in July 2013.
“In a day or two, the situation was brought back to normal in the
entire district. The scheme's progress is reviewed every month. We will
soon examine all cooks medically to ensure hygienic food for students.”Numbers that countKitchens: 842Cooks: 1,431Students enrolled: 63,010Funds received(From April 2013 to October 2013)Cooking Cost: Rs. 2.52 croreRemuneration of Cooks: Rs. 1.02 crore(From April 2012 to March 2013)Rs 4.27 croreRs 1.71 crore